According to the magazine, from 2014-16 the Aggies pulled in $148 million per year, with old rival Texas coming in second with $133 million in average revenue over that span. The Longhorns had long ruled the roost on the football program MVP front.

“We have always had the best, most loyal fan base in the nation with the 12th Man,” A&M chancellor John Sharp told the Houston Chronicle in response to the Forbes ranking. “What we were missing were the best facilities and coaches that the fan base deserved. Problem solved.”

A&M received a big boost from donors from 2014-16 based in part on the nearly half-billion dollar rebuild of Kyle Field that was completed in 2015, as its $260 million in donations were about double anyone else in that span.

The Aggies exited the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012, and last winter made another bold move with the lure of Jimbo Fisher from Florida State. A&M is paying Fisher $7.5 million annually over 10 years, with no buyout for Fisher if he chooses to leave the program before the 10 years is up.

The SEC most recently paid its 14 members about $41 million annually in revenue distribution, while the 10 Big 12 members received about $34 million each. As Forbes pointed out, for the Aggies to hang on to the top perch likely will mean needing sustained success under Fisher, as A&M hasn’t won at least 10 games since 2012.

The Aggies (1-1), coming off a 28-26 home loss to No. 2 Clemson, are preparing for a Saturday night home game against Louisiana-Monroe before traveling to No. 1 Alabama on Sept. 22.

The SEC had more than half of the top 15 most valuable programs, according to Forbes, with eight, including the Crimson Tide at No. 4. The Big 12 checked in with two in the top 15, including Oklahoma at No. 6.

Brent Zwerneman is a staff writer for the Houston Chronicle and chron.com covering Texas A&M athletics. He is a graduate of Oak Ridge High School and Sam Houston State University, where he played baseball.

Brent is the author of four published books about Texas A&M, three related to A&M athletics. He’s a four-time winner of APSE National Top 10 writing awards for the San Antonio Express-News, including a second-place finish for breaking the Dennis Franchione “secret newsletter” scandal in 2007.

His coverage of Texas A&M’s move to the SEC from the Big 12 also netted a third-place finish nationally in 2012. Brent met his wife, KBTX-TV news anchor Crystal Galny, in the Dixie Chicken before an A&M-Texas Tech football game in 2002, and the couple has three children: Will, Zoe and Brady.